When I am photographing a family or children I try and keep in mind what would someone looking at this in say 20-30yrs think, would it blow them away and still be intriguing to look at, will it still have an emotion attachment or will it be seen as just another photo.  The reason I started to think like this was while waiting for the bride to get ready at a wedding I was admiring an image on the wall of two small children holding hands walking away from the camera to a fountain in the park.  It was done in black & white and it was obvious from the style of clothes they were wearing that it was shot in the early 80′s.   I asked the father of the bride about the image and he said he took that image over 20yrs ago and that it gets more special to him every year.  It was a beautiful image, not because it was light beautifully or the composition was just right but because it had character, spontaneity and showed the connection between the two kids one of which he is about to walk down the aisle.  I imagine that one image will be up on his wall for another 20yrs.

It is amazing that an image can mean that much and bring that much joy to a family and that is exactly what I want to do every time I photograph and wedding or portrait.  Shooting on location allows the kids to have the freedom to run around and be oblivious to the images that are being taken, kids are such free spirits so I just let them be and capture that.

It is always nice to hear from past wedding clients and see their families grow and capture the next chapter in their lives. We organised an afternoon shoot at their house and were quite fortunate that the sun was out and perfect for the shoot at hand.  The reason we do all our portrait shoots on location or at a park is because the kids are much more relaxed and you can capture their little personalities while they are running around having fun.

Many people are of the opinion that summer is the best time for portraits but I don’t think you can go past Autumn in the morning or afternoon.  You get a softer light that is magic at these times on a nice day as well as the added bonus of the leaves changing colour.  We have a few spots still available for May so if you are intersted call the studio to book in a time.

enjoy!

These type of images are timeless and really show the character of a child rather than the stale posed images that can be taken in a studio.

The reason we do all our portrait shoots on location is kids and parents alike are more relaxed in a natural environment as you can see from the images below of William, Elliot & Eve.  The next few months are the perfect time to do outdoor portraits as the weather is mild the sun isn’t too direct and the parks are looking bright and green with all the rain we have had.  If you are thinking about getting some portraits done before Christmas book in soon as we are booking up fast and only have about 5 weekend shoots available for the rest of the year.

walking the dog

having fun

too cute

Doing portrait shoots somewhere familiar or personal to the family really helps bring out that relaxed look and adds another dimension to the final prints.  What I am essentially doing is taking a snap shot in time of a family, not only what they looked like but what they were wearing, personalities, age and interaction with each other.  Doing the shoot at home also adds a nostalgic reference looking back on the images in years to come.

enjoy!

brothers

autumn portrait

natural family portrait

family photograph

The thing I am noticing more and more with digital photography so prevalent is that kids from a very young age put on ‘that smile’ which is what they think they should do but always looks fake and forced.  The challenging part is making them smile and laugh naturally.  They get so many cameras poked in their face and get told to smile that they develop the fake smile.

Below are a few recent shoots I have done which we have managed to get some great fun and natural photographs.

beautiful baby

happy family

natural family photograph